Whole moong daal has an intact embryo whose respiration rate is slow during the phase of dormancy. When these are provided with growth condition, like providing it with water, growth is restored and the seed →moong daal) germinates and forms a new plant.

On the other hand, broken moong daal’s embryo isn’t intact. As a result of this it cannot respire and doesn’t grow or germinate.

By this comparison, we can classify whole moong daal as living and broken moong daal as non-living.